Tokyo Olympics 2020: IOC chief confirms no plans of cancelling the Games amid Corona Virus outbreak
What's the story?
International Olympics Committee (IOC) has confirmed that the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will take place in Tokyo despite the widespread outbreak of the Corona Virus in China. IOC chief John Coates admitted that they face a 'very big communication' job as they will have to convince players from other countries that it's safe to come in contact with the Chinese athletes.
The background
The athletes from several countries have avoided touring China and areas surrounding the nation owing to the Corona Virus outbreak. The fast-spreading disease has affected thousands of people hence, the IOC is tensed about the participation of players from China in the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
The heart of the matter
Talking to the reporters on Friday (14th February), Coates disclosed that IOC took advice from World Health Organization (WHO) for this matter. He said:
"The advice we have received from the World Health Organization (WHO) is that there is no case for a contingency plan to cancel or move the Games."
He accepted the fact that there is a big communication job that the IOC needs to do but he even mentioned that the Chinese athletes have moved out of China now. He continued:
"Certainly it's a very big communications job that needs to be undertaken. But we hear that most of the Chinese athletes are now out of China. I don't know how many were to be involved in test events here, but I don't see a problem if they're coming from another country."
Referring to the similar Zika virus that happened during the 2016 Rio Olympics, the head of IOC stated:
"The WHO pointed out the likelihood of Zika being a problem at the time of the Games was very low. But we did lose some athletes -- Jason Day's wife was pregnant. We didn't communicate the information well enough."
What's next?
Since there is still a lot of time left for the Tokyo Olympics 2020, the world expects to soon get control over Corona Virus. It will be intriguing to see how the IOC executes this big communication job in case it does not.